A Fresh Start for Hackney The Liberal Democrat Vision for our Borough Springfield Woodberry Down Stamford Hill West Cazenove Brownswood Stoke Newington Lea Bridge Hackney Clissold Downs King’s Park Shacklewell Hackney Dalston Central Homerton Hackney Wick De Beauvoir London Fields Victoria Haggerston Hoxton West Hoxton East and Shoreditch Pauline Pearce for Mayor Liberal Democrats A Fresh Start for Hackney I’m Pauline - you might know me as Maybe you also know I want to build Lady P or the Hackney Heroine - I am more council homes to tackle the standing for Mayor and this is my plan housing crisis - and fit fire sprinklers in for our borough. tower blocks, so nothing like Grenfell Like me, it doesn’t mess about with a can ever happen here. lot of flowery language. I keep it real - I hope you also know it’s us Lib Dems I tell it like it is and I say what needs passionately fighting Labour and to be done! Tories over this Brexit madness! You’ve probably already read about But I’m serious about giving Hackney a some of my biggest ideas: The Fresh Start - in all areas - so I’m putting Violence Reduction Unit, a proven tool forward a full plan of action to make for getting guns and knives - and the Hackney better… for everyone. harm they cause - off our streets. Pauline An Exit from Brexit Dave Raval, Hackney Central ward candidate Hackney is an open, diverse and liberal Pauline’s Lib Dems will… place and so it was no surprise that the borough was one of the strongest • Keep campaigning with the Hackney Remain areas in the EU referendum. community for an Exit from Brexit. Brexit is bad for Britain and bad for Hackney. It will damage businesses, jobs • Support EU citizens in Hackney and and families - Liberal Democrats have campaign to protect their rights. been at the forefront of the campaign to • Advocate nationally for a vote on the limit the damage, by staying in the Single final deal - with an option to remain Market and Customs Union and by in the EU if it is rejected. guaranteeing EU citizens’ rights. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn and many • Take a strong stance against hate- Labour MPs have consistently voted for crime and xenophobia surrounding Brexit in parliament, with the Tories. Brexit. A Safer Borough Pauline Pearce with Lord Brian Paddick Violent crime is on the rise in Hackney Pauline’s Lib Dems will… and 2018 has already seen a series of tragic deaths on our streets. • Fund extra Police Officers and invest in youth and social work. Liberal Democrats have opposed the closure of our local police stations and • Set up Hackney's first Violence neighbourhood offices under Labour and Reduction Unit - with its own staff and Conservative Mayors. budget - to address violence using We need better policing, but police proven public health techniques. alone are not enough. • Re-open neighbourhood police We must tackle the causes that lead to offices across Hackney . violence and criminal activity - by the time a young person picks up a gun or a knife, • Develop a community outreach they have already been failed by the programme to reduce tension system. We need to break the cycle. between residents and the police. Building Homes Simon de Deney, Clissold ward candidate - with Pauline Pearce Hackney, like most of London, is facing Pauline’s Lib Dems will… a housing crisis. Skyrocketing rents in the private sector and over 13,000 • Set up a council-owned company to people on a council waiting list. build homes for real affordable rents. For years, developers have been let off • Introduce resident-led decision- their responsibility to provide affordable making on all regeneration plans. homes and even Labour’s definition of affordable - rents starting at around • Create a community land forum to £1000 a month - is nothing of the sort. identify sites for new homes. Hackney is at risk of losing its greatest • Pressure developers to provide more resource, the diversity of its affordable and key-worker homes. communities and its people, because people cannot afford to stay. • Require developers to publish their We say enough is enough. viability reports for public scrutiny. Renting in Hackney Les Kelly, Brownswood ward candidate A major consequence of the housing Pauline’s Lib Dems will… shortage is the number of Hackney residents forced to live in substandard • Introduce landlord licensing with and sometimes unsafe properties. compulsory safety inspections and a Some of those most affected are the requirement to make safety reports homeless, often living in poorly freely available to tenants. maintained hostels and temporary • Provide support and advice to help accommodation at high cost to the homeless people get accommodation taxpayer. This cannot be allowed to with a "housing first" approach. continue. In addition to our commitment to build • Introduce regular inspections of all new, decent quality homes for Hackney, temporary accommodation used by we will work to ensure existing private the council to ensure it is maintained sector homes are fit for purpose. to a good standard. Fire Safety Darren Martin, De Beauvoir ward candidate - with Pauline Pearce The tragic Grenfell Tower fire in June Pauline’s Lib Dems will… 2017 posed many questions about safety in tower blocks. • Retrofit sprinklers in all tower blocks. Liberal Democrats called for tall buildings • Make risk assessments for all public to be fully assessed and the findings and residential buildings available made public. Although these checks were online as soon as they are completed. eventually completed, the Labour council has repeatedly failed to be transparent - • Set up a safety task force to respond a worrying trend when the risk to and address residents’ concerns. assessments found 3000 urgent faults in • Provide RAG safety ratings of schools. need of attention. • Publish the full report on cladding. Meanwhile, private landlords have even less oversight and tenants get even less • Require landlords to release safety information. This must change. reports as part of Landlord Licensing. Protecting the Vulnerable Joe Richards, Hackney Central ward candidate Cuts by central government have had a Pauline’s Lib Dems will… major impact on the council budget and forced it to make some hard choices. • Reverse Labour’s cuts to Council Tax Too often, however, Hackney Labour Support payments. has chosen measures that hit the • Save money by restricting eligibility poorest hardest. This is simply unfair. for CTS to those with savings of under Labour’s recent changes to Council Tax £10,000, reduce backdating and cut Support mean a 13% council tax increase payments to people who are out of for those on the scheme - some of the the country. borough’s poorest residents. We proposed a range of other ways of • End the use of bailiffs for those on raising the money - all were ignored. Council Tax Support as a matter of Meanwhile, the council used bailiffs principle and instead work with those against CTS recipients 870 times last year. in arrears to reach a solution. Schools Javed Isrolia and Isaac Kornbluh, Cazenove ward candidates Hackney has excellent schools and Pauline’s Lib Dems will… teachers - but more tailored support is needed in schools and in the community • Continue to support the cross-party to ensure young people don't slip Fairer Funding for Schools campaign. through the net, and that they go on to • Target support for ethnic minority lead happy, successful lives. pupils and those from disadvantaged Hackney Labour is cutting SEND (Special backgrounds, aiming to close the Educational Needs and Disabilities) attainment gap. funding to schools by 5%. • Ensure all schools have at least two Despite the schools funding crisis, the Liberal Democrats believe it is vital to Mental Health First Aid qualified retain current levels of funding for the members of staff. most vulnerable pupils; those dealing • Protect Special Educational Needs with poverty, disability or mental illness. and Disability (SEND) funding. Young People Pauline Pearce at a community event in King’s Park ward Hackney has some of the highest levels Pauline’s Lib Dems will… of inequality in the UK. 1 in 4 children in the borough lives in poverty. • Invest in new youth centres, Every parent wants to give their children additional youth workers and extra- the best life, but too many young people’s curricular activities for young people. chances are limited by circumstance. Education is vital, but it is also crucial that • Introduce mentoring programs in young people have opportunities and schools to tackle discrimination, places to go outside school where they bullying and violent behaviour. can participate in clubs, sports and widen • Work with community leaders and their horizons. groups to identify and support We would invest in a community vulnerable young people. network to support young people to become the best that they can be. • Keep campaigning for votes at 16. Health Ben Mathis, Lea Bridge ward candidate We think health and social care should Pauline’s Lib Dems will… be one integrated service where residents who rely on both can receive • Ensure provision of outdoor gym and the care they need together. sports facilities, especially on green Liberal Democrats have campaigned for spaces within estates. this approach and put forward plans to • Commit to working with the raise income tax by 1p to fund a high- Alzheimer’s Society to become a quality integrated service. dementia friendly borough. Services for those with mental illness have long been underfunded. • Work with charities such as Mind It is vital that we work to get parity of and Open Door to provide 24 hour esteem between mental and physical access to mental health services with conditions in order to get people in special attention to the needs of Hackney the care they need.